World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMamoru Shinozaki was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan to a coal mine owner. Brought up largely by his grandmother who wanted him to become a monk, he spent a year at a Buddhist temple at the age of six, but was taken home after his father voiced objection. As a student, he became interested in the socialist theories of Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels; he was caught with socialist works and was expelled from his high school in Kyoto, Japan. In 1931, he completed his degree in journalism at the Meiji University. In 1934, he was posted to Shanghai, China as a reporter for the news agency Domei Tsushinsha; he was later transferred to Nanjing and Hankou. He was later assigned as a press attaché at the Japanese embassies in Berlin, Germany and Singapore. While in Singapore, he was caught while assisting Japanese Army officers Colonel Tanikawa and Major Kinitake on a spying mission. Shinozaki claimed he was not aware of the intentions of the army officers, thus claiming innocence, but he was nevertheless found guilty and sentenced to three years' hard labor and a fine. He was freed from the Changi Prison by the conquering Japanese troops on 15 Feb 1942.

ww2dbaseDuring the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Shinozaki served as a senior adviser to the civilian administration. He subsequently took on an additional role as the welfare officer. His service in the Japanese occupation government was marked by acts of mercy, including distribution of food (usually through western religious establishments) and good citizen passes (especially to Chinese and Europeans) to help them cope with the brutal occupation. He was also credited with the establishment of the Endau settlement in Malaya, which housed Chinese immigrants from Singapore so that they could live off the land and ease the food shortages in the city; this plan was presented to the Japanese authority as a way to prevent anti-Japanese movements from forming within Singapore should the British attempt an invasion. By Sep 1944, there were about 12,000 settliers in Endau. Shinozaki risked his life to struck a secret deal with the communist Malaya People's Anti-Japanese Army so that this group known for banditry would not attack Endau, while also covertly assisting another settlement at Bahau which was run by European and Chinese Catholics; either of the two, if discovered, would likely land him in prison, if not execution.

ww2dbaseWhen the Japanese surrendered in Singapore, Shinozaki was briefly interned at Jurong for being a part of the Japanese administration, but he was quickly released. He was employed by the British Field Security Force as a interpreter, and then served as a prosecution witness during the war crimes trials at Singapore.

ww2dbaseShinozaki passed away from illness in Tokyo, Japan in the early 1990s.

Mamoru Shinozaki Timeline

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